Lovely finish, but not for a beginner

The fabric is a cotton sateen by Ellie Whittaker. It has snakes in space. I ordered 2m but was sent 2x1m cuts (and a 50% refund, which was more than fair). Luckily, I could just about fit the pattern pieces.

Instead of the back zipper I cut the back on the fold and added waist ties. The excess fabric at the waist I pleated.

I also decided not to do the neckline facing. I don’t like wearing facings so usually use bias binding instead, but the V in the neckline is so sharp it just wasn’t possible. I tried like 6 different times on scrap fabric before giving up. I was really stuck for ideas on how to finish the neckline and had just about resigned myself to tracing the facing patterns, when I remembered this trim I’d bought in Japan. I stitched it on by hand with matching thread, using an overcast stitch along the raw fabric edge. I followed the line of the V down into the waistband with the trim, using my seam unpicker to open a space to tuck the raw ends in.

This is my first time making a Pleiades dress. I love the result, but it’s quite clear that the designer isn’t a professional patternmaker. For example, the short sleeves narrow all the way, and don’t straighten at the end for hemming. This means if you tried to machine stitch a hem after turning the raw edge under twice you’d have a ton of excess fabric and tucks along the stitch line. The skirt hem had a similar issue. I did a slip stitch by hand to distribute the excess fabric evenly, so it’s not noticeable.